How DAV reconnected two friends

The last time Lt. Col. Mike Hert heard Army Sgt. Adam Alexander’s voice, it was over a conference call from Paktia Province, Afghanistan.

“Adam said he had to go because they were under attack,” Mike recalls.

“I remember Mike saying keep your head down,” says Adam. It would be one of the last things he remembered before the events that changed his life forever took place.

Adam survived the attack, but he was badly wounded and had to endure several major surgeries as a result. While he was navigating an extensive and grueling rehabilitation, Mike was finishing up his deployment, and the two lost contact.

That is until an email about a DAV service project seeking mentors for a veterans treatment court reconnected them.

DAV is an organization of veterans helping veterans. Mike and Adam now co-mentor veterans going through the Outagamie Veterans Treatment Court and get together about once a week.

Here’s what they have to say about their experience:

“I was experiencing a bitter taste from being retired and missed being [a noncommissioned officer] and being with my guys. DAV built that camaraderie and was an excuse for us to spend more time together,” Adam said.

“We don’t discuss Afghanistan as much — it’s more about what we are doing now,” Mike said. “Adam is immersing himself in the [DAV] chapter. He has a deep passion and commitment for his fellow veterans, and he makes an immediate connection with everybody that he meets.”